Ashland’s post office opened in 1860, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #57 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
15 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 112 buildings between them. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.
The Ashland post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Whittlesey (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 9,956 in 18902020 census: 7,908166 years
How historic is Ashland?
A
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ashland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ashland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashland is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #57 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ashland’s 157 sits above most of its state (96% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 124 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ashland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Ashland, building by building, 1884–1909
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Eight Native American tribes lived on Chequamegon Bay. Later settlers included European explorers, missionaries and fur traders, and more recently, Yankees from the eastern United States who platted and developed the lands, railroaders, shippers, loggers, entrepreneurs, and other settlers. Four flags have flown over the area around Ashland from colonial to contemporary times: Spanish, French, English and American.
The area was part of the United States' Northwest Territory. This region was divided into four successive territories for administration before becoming part of the state of Wisconsin: Indiana Territory, Michigan Territory, Illinois Territory, and Wisconsin Territory.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Ashland post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ashland rank for history?
Ashland is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #57 of 362 in Wisconsin. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ashland?
15 listings: 12 buildings, among them the Old Ashland Post Office (listed 1974, the first), and 3 historic districts, the West Second Street Historic District, the Chapple and MacArthur Avenues Residential Historic District and the Fifield Place Historic District, with 112 contributing buildings. 124 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ashland?
36% of Ashland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1956.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (15), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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